How are we going to get out of this? We have an army of undead all around and god knows where we are! I know that there is little to no chance of us surviving, even if we make it through this challenge, there will just be another waiting for us. And while the enemy grows with each fallen survivor our numbers only grow smaller, and our resources dwindle more and more. What’s the point in fighting, if there’s no hope of victory?

Pages

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Haven Chapter 2

Book 2: Haven

Chapter 2

Things began moving pretty fast after Connor showed us his
gun supply, it gave everyone a new sense of purpose and hope. Brooke and Daniel
worked with Connor to record how many weapons we had, both melee and ranged.
Most of the weapons there were handguns, the military having taken any larger
ordinance but guns were guns and they were a happy addition. Only Nicole and
Will seemed put off by this, worried that a sudden increase in the availability
of guns would cause more harm than good. I walked over to them as Connor was in
the middle of trying to quell their worries. ‘Look,’ Connor began, ‘in any
other situation I would be agreeing with you: militarization of an untrained
group can only lead to chaos, but this isn't any situation, we need to be able
to protect ourselves’

‘I agree,’ Will replied, ‘it just worries me that’s all,’ he
sighed, ‘maybe it’s just me trying to hold on to our innocence, there’s still a
part of me that says “isn't there someone else who can do this?”’

‘I know what you mean,’ I told him, trying to sound
reassuring and confident, ‘but we have to arm ourselves otherwise we will be
helpless against the dead or any other force-like those marauders-that are more
heavily armed than us.’

Will and Nicole agreed eventually, but they didn't seem happy
about it and Nicole refused to carry a gun. I was fine with that though, I was
more than happy to have an excuse to keep her away from front-line danger. I
would have been even happier if Wendy was the same but she was dead set on
getting a gun and learning how to use it. It’s not surprising when I think
about what she’s been through: getting attacked by that zombie at our place,
coming to the hospital, losing Caleb. Wendy had to toughen up, Nicole had to
but her moral code was apparently stricter than Wendy’s, but maybe more
dangerous.

Connor showed us around the station and one thing that did
interest me was a generator, powerful enough to power the lights among other
things. The ability to refrigerate our food stores was an exciting prospect.
Connor didn't know how it worked though, but Daniel said he might know, after a
while of fiddle with it he stood up and turned to us saying, ‘it works, but
there’s no fuel, it was probably thought that when it would need to be used
they could use some from the cars’

‘We don’t have enough to spread it out,’ I said, ‘in fact I was
starting to think we should ditch one of the cars to save fuel’

‘Is there anywhere we could get some more?’ Brooke asked.
Connor thought for a moment before turning, walking into one of the offices and
pulling out a map. ‘In a case we were working on recently we investigated a
warehouse near here,’ he explained, ‘it supplies some local automotive stores,
among other places, maybe we can find some fuel there’

We decided it would be best if we left quickly, the sooner we
leave the less chance there is of some other group raiding the warehouse.
Brooke, Will, Connor, Steven, Daniel and I were going to take the Ute, now empty,
and Connor’s car. Steven and Daniel were the only ones without gun experience
apart from the little bits Brooke had taught Daniel so Connor gave them a crash
course. I hadn't had much chance to speak to Steven since we arrived at the
station, I decided if I was going to be the de facto leader of this team I should
try to get to know him better.

On the way to the warehouse it was Will, Connor and Daniel in
the small car and me and Steven in the Ute with Brooke riding in the back. ‘So,’
I began, trying to start a conversation, ‘how long have you known Will?’ seemed
like a good place to start

‘A few years now,’ he replied stoically, ‘you?’

‘I know him from high school, actually I think we've met a
few times’

‘Yeah maybe.’ There were some long moments of silence after
that, there wasn't much else to say, it seems inappropriate to ask about
trivialities like TV and video games now that the world has ended. Or at least
the world as we know it. I figured I’d had to leave it at that, Will seems to
trust him at least and I he’s judgment hasn't been wrong yet. We spent the rest
of the ride in silence.

After a while of driving we came to a stop, we had made it to
the ware house. It was deadly quiet, but there were no signs of the dead or the
living. There were, however, several trucks outside that looked familiar but
with our confidence bolstered by our new arsenal we kept moving, entering the
warehouse. The all-to-familiar smell of dead flesh greeted us as soon as we
entered and we saw a corpse on the floor, reaching for the exit, it looked like
it was one of the ware house workers, except his head had been blown apart. ‘Someone’s
already been here,’ I said

‘Ya think?’ Connor replied. Hesitantly Will crouched down near
the body, his arm wrapped around his mouth and nose against the stench. He
stood up again, quickly moving away ‘that body has been there for a while, ‘he
said, ‘the blood on the floor has dried’

‘But…’ Brooke began, looking at the warehouse, ‘if they've been
here why is all this stuff still here? Wouldn't they have taken it all’

‘Maybe they didn't need it?’ Daniel suggested

‘No,’ Connor shook his head, ‘what’s more likely is that they
came here, found that,’ he nodded towards the corpse, ‘and probably more and
fled before they could empty it out’

‘Over here,’ Will called out from further into the warehouse.
He ran off in the direction of his voice, leaving Daniel there to guard our
exit. When I saw what he had found my stomach almost seized and I was lucky I didn't throw up, in front of us were three corpses of the marauders.